Life Lately: Fire + Ice

Here are snapshots of life lately!

 Snow, snow and more snow!

I hope you have some good snow boots 😉  I’d be a lot more excited about snow if it didn’t mean the whole city shutting down. On top of already being on limited social interactions, it’s just kind of like a double whammy! 2022 is showing off. 

Do not try this at home

This professional roofer had to go retrieve some icicles for a couple of eager kiddos!

With all that ice, we have to keep warm somehow!

The Solo Stove that we got last year has proved worthy of its cost. We’ve been using it so much because it’s easily transported around. (Our old cheap fire pit was impossible to move without two people.) 

Burning ice = a lesson on the states of matter!

Marshmallow Man

This little guy is always warm in his marshmallow suit!

Would you believe this Patagonia bunting is actually size 12-18 months!? Birch is 3.5!! It finally fits him perfectly, and he is always toasty warm inside. Our new Columbia gloves are also getting lots of use and get a 10/10 from me for being super long and warm. Here’s a link to his hat!

Staying Warm Through Sports

The best way to warm up is to move your body! Seriously, sometimes I’m freezing inside and go walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes just to warm up my core. Works even better than a shower! Pump out some biceps while you’re at it. 

UVA Hoops Clinic

Mazen got a super cool Christmas present this year: a basketball clinic with three of the UVA players! The clinic was an hour, held at the Boar’s Head Sports Club, and masks were required. Participants got a jersey shirt and a signed poster. 

These boys barely reached his hip bones! : ) 

Unfortunately Mazen hasn’t played basketball since the pandemic began, but hopefully he’ll get back to it sooner rather than later. 

He loved hanging out with the players!

My Indoor Sport

Indoor soccer is actually outdoor because the garages at the field house were wide open. It was literally freezing in there! Still super fun to play on the turf, and my team crushed our first game 12-3. I kept my mask on the whole time because it kept me warm – lol. 

Checkmate

Guess who taught who to play chess? Mazen taught ME! And he beat me 5 times in a row. It’s been a fun activity to do together. I had no idea chess was such a fast-paced game (maybe I’m doing it wrong…!).

Real Food

 Yogurt bowl appearance with banana, crushed Nature Valley bar (I was out of granola, and these bars are basically granola anyway!), and almond butter. 

Sunny Side Up!

Eggs, toast, and clementine.

Date Night In

After a very long week off of school, our kids went to Thomas’s parents for the night. We had a glorious time cooking dinner together, with loud music playing, and getting to sit down through our entire meal! 

Then we got to play a few rounds of Jaipur!! This is the BEST two-person game that my friend Ellen introduced to me. It’s a little strategic and a little card game. You play three rounds and best of three wins. 

In the morning we prepared a nice brunch to enjoy in our quiet house. JM Stock biscuits (from our freezer), half an omelet, grapefruit, grapes. I’m eating ALL the grapefruit this time of year. 

Look at those snuggle boys who had so much fun at the grandparents’! They had pizza for dinner and French toast for breakfast and apparently slept like logs. 

More Meals

Taco night

The kids’ favorite. 

Blue Apron Curry Chicken

with peppers, rice, figs, tzatziki, and peanuts. We LOVED this meal! 

Enchiladas via Blue Apron

With turkey, beans, peppers, and sour crema. 

Blue Apron Romesco Pork & Gnocchi

Another delicious winner. Blue Apron has been knocking it out of the park with their recent recipes.

Lunches

Smoked Pork Salad

Thomas smoked a pork shoulder on the Big Green Egg and I had pork salad bowls for lunch all week. With slaw, fresh cilantro, hot sauce, and Greek yogurt. 

Version 2.0

With spinach and peppers

Leftover Enchiladas

There was an Orrteo in the Lunchskin! 

Daily Harvest Bakes

I am super pumped about these new bakes from Daily Harvest! Most of their products are single serving, but these bakes are substantial enough to be a whole lunch or a dinner side dish for two. They are made with real superfoods and you simply place the whole tin (minus the top film) into a hot oven for 20-ish minutes and dinner is served. 

We enjoyed two different flavors with some leftover chicken! I loved the gigante beans.

You can get up to $40 off of Daily Harvest with my link. 

What’s the best meal you’ve enjoyed lately?